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ESports Industry

Delivered August 5, 2019. Contributor: Elizabeth W.

Goals

To understand the growth of eSports in the last 5 years and how it has evolved and where it is trending as a segment of gaming and the top eSports brands. In addition, another goal is to have an overview of gaming and how consumers are purchasing gaming products with global demographic data, as available. Lastly, to understand how eSports are different or mimicking traditional sports and how the media, experiential, and product landscapes are changing in the eSports space. In addition, we should focus on any insights relating to ESLGaming and Playerunkown's Battleground (PUBG).

Early Findings

During our preliminary research, we were able to uncover insights relating to the growth of eSports in the last 5 years, including viewership growth, growth in awareness, platform coverage growth, growth in the amount of time watching eSports, and revenue growth. In addition, we were able to determine a list of the most valuable eSports companies globally, as well as the most popular eSports games on Twitch. We were also able to uncover the countries with the most eSports fans and the countries that have the highest earnings in Esports. Below is an overview of our early findings.

Growth

  • Since 2016, the global eSports enthusiast viewership has grown from 121 million to 165 million in 2018, with a prediction of growth to 250 million in 2021.
  • In addition, from 2016 to 2018, occasional viewership grew from 160 million to 215 million, with a prediction of growth to 307 million in 2021.
  • eSports awareness has also grown over the years from roughly 800,000 people who had heard about it in 2015 to 1.43 billion in 2018. In 2019, it is predicted to reach around 1.57 billion people.
  • Twitch and YouTube have lead the platforms offering live eSports coverage with 1.13 million active streamers all together.
  • Starting in 2013, people watched about 2.4 billion hours of eSports globally. This has increased to roughly 6.6 billion hours in 2018. '
  • eSports revenue continues to grow as well. In fact, in 2016, the total eSports revenue was only $493 million, while 2018 saw the eSports industry make a total of $906 million.

Most Valuable Esports Companies

  • Based on value, the 12 most valuable eSports companies are Cloud9, TeamSoloMid, TeamLiquid, Echo Fox, OpTic Gaming, Fnatic, Gen G. Esports, G2 Esports, Immortals, Envy Gaming, 100 Thieves, and Counter Logic Gaming.

Most Popular eSports Games on Twitch

  • Based on the amount of time each game was broadcast, the top 10 eSports games on Twitch are Fortnite, League of Legends, Dota 2, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Players Unknown Battle Ground, World of Warcraft, Apex Legends, and Mortal Kombat 11.

Countries with the Most eSports Enthusiasts Fans

  • The top 3 countries with the most eSports Enthusiast fans are China, the United States, and China. '

Highest Earnings eSports Countries

  • The 5 countries with the highest eSports earnings are China, the United States, South Korea, Sweden, and Canada.

Additional Insights

  • Additional insights may also be found in this report for an additional cost.

Proposed next steps:

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